Never Give Up. Never!

:Oh, we have all been there. We tried. We did the 'best' possible. That's it. It's over.

My Dad drilled it into me. "It's not over until it's over." OUCH! What does that mean, I thought often.

I  shudder now trying to think of past examples of giving it "the ol' college try.'" Some of those memories are painful. Let me share one now, that is jubilant.

Some 25 years or so ago, St. John's University hired me to photograph a multi-day event, The Inner-City Games. I had shown capability by being the official photographer for the NY Special Olympics and Big East College basketball in Madison Square Garden.

It was summer. It was hot. It was v-e-r-y hot.

From the moment the busses arrived transporting the youngsters, until they left, i worked those days of sporting events like no other. I was all over the place, like a grasshopper. 😉

Looking back, it is one of my proudest coverages throughout my career as a photojournalist. Human Emotion. Peak Action. Spontaneous Moments.

I hustled from one scheduled venue to another, stopping often to capture faces, smiles, expressions, gestures, all of it.

However, there was one young person who refused to be photographed by me. Every time, he turned his body away from me. OK. This had never happened to me. I struggled and struggled. He was quicker than my camera eye.

The next day. Same thing. What the heck? What did I do to him? I tried and tried. He outfoxed me always.

It was the last day, a long week. I was sunburnt, hot, spent, yet I continued through the closing ceremonies until...it was over. Done. I was elated yet so disappointed as the young athlete would not even look at me. No point in continuing. It's really over. I was not a success.

I moped along following him to his bus. He took his seat and turned his back to the window. Really! Aw, come on!

The bus started to pull away. I refused to stand there idle. I raised my camera to my eye. Waited. Waited. Then at the exact second when the bus would pick up speed, I saw in my camera's view, a proud, happy, and approving smile. Click! 

Never give up. "It's not over until it's over."

Stay strong, my friends.

Image: Last Look, Inner City Games, Jamaica, NY ©Robert Floyd

P.S. One of my all time favorite portraits!

About the Author: Robert Floyd enjoys new awareness and being in the moment. So appreciative of heroes in his life. You can usually find him, when he’s not in The Robert Floyd Photo Gallery, learning Zoom to plan 2020 field trips in the beautiful Pioneer Valley, Cape Cod, Cape May, Newport, Manhattan, and Canada. 

Follow him here and on FACEBOOK: ROBERT FLOYD GALLERY/LEARNING CENTER. You'll be glad you did.